Licensable materials data - effects of seawater on composites
Materials choices can greatly affect the performance of laminates subject to long-term immersion in water, with even materials targetting the same markets and applications differing greatly in terms of moisture uptake and strength retention.
Unfortunately it can take many months to run the screening tests needed to make informed decisions.
Fortunately, Orthotropic has been working ahead on this problem for several years and has created licensable screening data.
Good to know:
- Materials are all fully traceable
- Processes are all carefully documented
- Critical measurements are made with traceably calibrated instruments
Please contact Orthotropic for a quote.
2020 E-glass / epoxy study
1 x E-glass UD non-crimp fabric
10 epoxy / hardener combinations
E-glass fabrics are frequently combined with epoxy infusion resins to create high-performance, yet cost effective structures for marine / offshore use, so this study addresses the effect of resin system selection on the performance of moisture-conditioned E-glass laminates.
A single unidirectional E-glass fabric was infused with ten epoxy resin / hardener combinations. The resins selected were all slow-curing types intended for the infusion of large marine / industrial structures. Most remain available in 2026, although three of the combinations have been recently superseded by their manufacturers.
The tensile and interlaminar shear strengths of the resulting laminates were measured ‘dry’ and after 6 months at 45°C in both natural seawater and de-ionised water to give indications of the effects of moisture conditioning on fibre and matrix-driven performance.
The licensable package includes:
Item
Details
Cast resin density data
2 datapoints each system, Archimedes method
Laminate density and Vf data
2 datapoints each system, Archimedes method
Moisture uptake curves – resins
In both de-ionised water and natural seawater
Moisture uptake curves – laminates
In both de-ionised water and natural seawater
Resin curing exotherm traces
100gm mixes, insulated, 1 trace each system
Interlaminar shear strength data
Dry and after conditioning in both
de-ionised water and natural seawater
Total 189 datapoints
Minimum 6 coupons per test
Fibre-direction tension strength data
Dry and after conditioning in both
de-ionised water and natural seawater
Total 184 datapoints
Minimum 5 coupons per test
Report
Materials information & datasheets
Test coupon drawings
Description of manufacturing techniques
Description of conditioning and test methods
Summary of results
Please contact Orthotropic for a quote.
2023 fibre type study
Fibres
Resins
Further information shortly
The licensable package includes:
Item
Details
Cast resin density data
x datapoints each system, Archimedes method
Laminate density and Vf data
x datapoints each system, Archimedes method
Moisture uptake curves – resins
In natural seawater
Moisture uptake curves – laminates
In natural seawater
Resin curing exotherm traces
100gm mixes, insulated, 1 trace each system
Interlaminar shear strength data
Dry and after conditioning in natural seawater
Total x datapoints
Minimum x coupons per test
Fibre-direction tension strength data
Dry and after conditioning in natural seawater
Total x datapoints
Minimum x coupons per test
Report
Materials information & datasheets
Test coupon drawings
Description of manufacturing techniques
Description of conditioning and test methods
Summary of results
Please contact Orthotropic for a quote.